Heme sensing and detoxification by HatRT contributes to pathogenesis during Clostridium difficile infection.

ABSTRACT: Clostridium difficile is a Gram-positive, spore-forming anaerobic bacterium that infects the colon, causing symptoms ranging from infectious diarrhea to fulminant colitis. In the last decade, the number of C. difficile infections has dramatically risen, making it the leading cause of reported hospital acquired infection in the United States. Bacterial toxins produced during C. difficile infection (CDI) damage host epithelial cells, releasing erythrocytes and heme into the gastrointestinal lumen. The reactive nature of heme can lead to toxicity through membrane disruption, membrane protein and lipid oxidation, and DNA damage. Here we demonstrate that C. difficile detoxifies excess heme to achieve full virulence within the gastrointestinal lumen during infection, and that this detoxification

SUBMITTER: Knippel RJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6303022 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature